Samsung HW-D550 HT Sound Bar

Samsung HW-D550 sound bar is very slim, under 2" in depth, from front to back. Its 42" width suggests a good match for TVs 40~50" wide, which correlates to TV's with a diagonal screen size of 46~50". It appears to be made entirely of plastic, finished in the usual glossy black, presumably to match the vast majority of big screen TVs that are similar fingerprint magnets.

Samsung HW-D550 sound bar on cabinet in front of TV. Its depth is just 1.8".

The sound bar contains six speaker drivers, three each for left and right channels. The drivers are plain to see; they have no grill cover. Each 3/4" fabric dome tweeter is flanked on either side by a 2" midrange driver. The specs say they are 3-way speakers, so one assumes the two midrange drivers don't cover the same frequencies. They look similar, but the two drivers are not identical. It is hard to tell whether the cone material is plastic or metal.

A 3/4" dome tweeter flanked by 2" midrange cone drivers.

The input and output connections are all on the back panel, in two recesses, and the cables plug in sideways. This is to enable flush wall mounting; round pegs on the back of the unit allow hanging the unit on a wall beneath a TV. There is also a permanently attached AC cord and 2-prong plug.

Analog audio mini plug, and optical digital inputs in recess on back panel.

Two Mini-HDMI inputs and one Mini-HDMI output in another back recess.

The sub is quite small, with no connections except an AC cord/plug. It is ported to the rear, and a non-removable cloth grill covers the side with the driver on it. The speaker driver is just barely visible through the grill; it looks to be about 6" diameter.

The Samsung HW-D550 remote control has power buttons for itself and any Samsung TV. When the HW-D550 is powered up, a set of display LEDs and indicators light up in the center of the unit, showing inputs and other settings. This is very difficult to photograph; hence the line-drawing capture from the manual below.

The remote control is small, with just 19 buttons, but its functionality is fairly extensive.

The remote provides access to basic functions of most current Samsung TV.